Bickel & Brewer lawsuit seeks damages from owners of Bank One Center

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Lisa M. Whitley

Staff Writer

DOWNTOWN DALLAS -- The Dallas-based law firm of Bickel & Brewer and its 200 employees may move out of Bank One Center when the lease expires in 18 months, said Bill Brewer, the firm's co-managing partner.

"It's no secret we're not happy with our landlord," he said. "In all likelihood, we'll go elsewhere. We're not pleased with the way the building's being operated."

In January, Bickel & Brewer filed a lawsuit in Dallas County court seeking $500,000 in damages against the joint owners of the building, Canadian-based TrizecHahn Corp. (NYSE: TZH) and Crescent Real Estate Equities.

The suit claims the owners have failed to reimburse the law firm for repairs and upgrades it made to its office space. It also alleges expenses are charged to tenants that should be billed to Bank One Center's capital expenses.

And, the firm claims services are substandard in the areas of security and cleaning, including instances of cleaning people working barefoot.

"The services are not consistent with what you'd expect from a Class A building in downtown Dallas," said Michael McCormack, director of administration at Bickel & Brewer.

Representatives of Bank One Center did not return phone calls from the Dallas Business Journal by press time.

Among options being considered by the law firm is a 120,000-square-foot build-to-suit building in Far North Dallas along the Dallas North Tollway, Brewer said.

If the firm takes this route, it would retain 50,000 to 70,000 square feet for itself and lease the rest of the building. It would be a Class A facility and include a fitness area, day care and a cafeteria.

The cost of this type of building would range from $15.6 million to $16.8 million, industry sources said. Brewer said the firm operates on a debt-free basis and doesn't expect this status to change if it decides to construct its own building. Various partners, such as the building's developer, would probably contribute to construction costs, he said.

Moving its offices out of the central business district is an unusual decision for a law firm, said Bob Edge, executive director of Cushman & Wakefield of Texas Inc. Downtown has long been the traditional location for law firms, banks and accounting firms.

"That would be one of the more significant announcements in a very long time," he said. "You only have one major announcement of a law firm moving out of downtown in the last 25 years and that was Jones Day, who moved across the freeway into Uptown."

Kirby White agrees.

"By historical standards, it would be unusual for a large firm to move from downtown," said White, leasing manager for Crescent Real Estate Equities, who specializes in the downtown market.

But, Brewer said his firm has never been one to stand on tradition.

"We've always been on the cutting edge," he said. "I suppose if we were just starting out now and no one knew who we were, there might be some sense in being downtown. But, I don't think people come to us because they were riding the elevator at Bank One Center. They come to us because they know what we can do."

Most of the firm's employees live in the northern part of the Metroplex, Brewer said.

There is significant risk in stepping into the real estate market, Edge said.

But, that doesn't worry Brewer.

"Our own instinct is that this is a tremendous opportunity to take a small risk," he said. "We don't see it as a big risk. Besides, there's always some risk in any equity play, whether it's stocks or real estate."

If Bickel & Brewer moves to North Dallas, the firm would also lease 10,000 to 15,000 square feet downtown for courthouse accessibility. That space would include its mock courtroom, a conference room and a couple of offices, according to industry sources.

Other options include leasing office space in a different building, either downtown or in North Dallas. At one point, it was rumored the firm had looked at building space south of the Trinity River.

Part of the problem in making a commitment, sources say, is that Brewer and his partner, John Bickel, are not in agreement on the issue. Speculation has it that Bickel may be in favor of cutting a deal for a lower lease rate with Bank One Center and keeping the firm in its present space.

Bickel could not be reached for comment.

At any rate, Brewer said, the firm is hiring a professional consultant to help it review all its options. A decision is expected within the next two weeks because it will take at least a year to build new offices if the firm decides to take that route, he said.

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